200: Chapter 200 Terrifying Blood Sea

"Chi chi chi!"

Not far from him, several rocks suddenly cracked open, and several black shadows shot out, aiming straight for Ye Tian's vitals!

These black shadows were only the length of a finger, shaped like centipedes, dark red all over, blending in with the surroundings, with sharp mouthparts emitting poisonous gas!

"A sneak attack?"

Ye Tian's eyes turned cold; he had just broken through the illusion, and his alertness was at its peak!

Without a second thought, he performed the "Taixu Star-Shift Steps," sliding back several zhang while simultaneously pointing his fingers!

"Starfall Finger!"

Several finger strikes arrived first despite being launched later, hitting those black shadows!

"Pu! Pu! Pu!"

Wherever the finger energy passed, those dark red centipedes were instantly pierced through, exploding into clouds of blood mist!

However, the attack was not over!

The ground suddenly vibrated violently, and a giant tail the thickness of a water bucket, covered in dark red scales, whipped out from the sand beneath Ye Tian's feet, sweeping toward his legs with the force of a thunderbolt!

This strike was incredibly heavy; if hit, his legs would surely break!

At the same time, a fishy wind rushed from the side, and a bloody maw filled with sharp teeth and dripping with slime bit toward Ye Tian's head!

It was a Yao Beast shaped like a lizard but even more hideous, having somehow crept so close unnoticed!

A pincer attack from above and below!

This was no ordinary Yao Beast, but a Secret Realm creature with a certain level of intelligence!

At the critical moment, Ye Tian's footwork changed, avoiding the giant tail sweeping from underground while he thought!

"Black Tortoise Spirit Armor, appear!"

The inner armor he wore instantly transformed, a dark gold light flashing as an arm shield immediately covered his left arm!

He wanted to test the defensive power of this newly acquired treasure!

"Clang!"

A loud bang!

The lizard Yao Beast's bloody maw bit down hard on the black tortoise spirit armor shield!

Sparks flew!

Ye Tian only felt a massive force transmit through his left arm, his body swaying slightly, but his feet remained unmoved!

Meanwhile, the lizard Yao Beast let out a pained hiss, several of its sharp teeth actually snapping off, and foul-smelling blood flowed!

Terror appeared in its eyes; it clearly hadn't expected this seemingly unremarkable shield to be so hard!

"What a strong defense!"

Ye Tian was overjoyed.

The defensive power of this black tortoise spirit armor shield truly did not disappoint him!

Seizing the Opportunity, his right hand shot out like lightning, with five-colored lightning swirling around his fingertips.

Little Five Elements Thunder Incantation!

"Crackle!"

A blinding white-gold bolt of lightning instantly pierced the lizard Yao Beast's throat!

"Ow!"

The Yao Beast let out a scream, its body crashing to the ground, and after a few twitches, it went silent.

The Yao Beast that had sneak-attacked from underground, seeing its companion killed instantly, seemed to know it had kicked a steel plate; after a series of hurried hisses, it quickly burrowed into the ground and vanished.

Ye Tian did not pursue it, but instead alertly sensed his surroundings, only letting out a slight sigh of relief after confirming there was no further danger.

He walked to the lizard Yao Beast's corpse and found that its monster core contained a peculiar blend of fire and earth attribute energy, seemingly related to the environment here, so he collected it.

"This Secret Realm is indeed filled with killing intent at every step. Not only are there illusions that are hard to guard against, but also such cunning and fierce native Yao Beasts."

Ye Tian's expression was grave.

After this encounter, he had a more direct understanding of the dangers of the Illusory Sea Secret Realm.

He looked up toward the depths of the Secret Realm; beneath that dark red sky, there seemed to be the silhouettes of even more majestic mountain ranges, with heart-palpitating energy fluctuations faintly emanating from them.

"I must be even more careful. The priority now is to find Senior Brother Lei and Senior Sister Luo, or at least determine a relatively safe direction."

Ye Tian pondered for a moment and decided to continue toward the high ground he had chosen earlier.

At the same time, he more carefully released his Divine Sense and kept a trace of the chaos bead's aura protecting his mind at all times to prevent falling into an illusion again.

This wasteland seemed endless, with nothing but monotonous dark red sand and stones.

But that eerie energy that disturbed the mind was always present, making one feel extremely oppressed.

Time lost its meaning here; Ye Tian didn't know how long had passed, but he felt he had traveled at least several hundred miles, yet the scenery remained unchanged.

Just as he was doubting if he had fallen into an illusion again and lost his way, a different sight finally appeared on the horizon ahead.

It was a vast, boundless dark red ocean!

The seawater was viscous, with no ripples, a scene of dead silence.

And in the center of this eerie blood sea, a giant mountain range so majestic and wondrous that it was hard to imagine stood there quietly!

The mountain range as a whole displayed a color of interwoven dark gold and pitch black, its height unknown but tens of thousands of zhang, piercing into the sky, with traces of ancient ruined buildings faintly visible across the mountains.

A distorted energy field shrouded the mountain range, making it impossible to see the specific details on the mountain, yet one could feel a heart-palpitating, majestic pressure and a sense of attraction originating from the depths of the Soul!

It was as if that mountain held a massive Opportunity enough to make any Cultivator go mad!

"Is this... a mountain in the illusory sea? Could this be the core area of the Secret Realm?"

Ye Tian stopped and gazed at the immortal mountain on the sea, his heart filled with shock.

The aura emitted by this mountain was far more ancient than the outer wasteland, and that energy field was by no means ordinary.

He carefully observed the blood sea and found that the surface was not completely calm; occasionally, huge, back-like black shadows would slowly swim beneath the viscous surface, making one's skin crawl.

Beneath this blood sea, there were likely hidden things even more terrifying than the wasteland Yao Beasts.

"It seems that to climb that mountain, I must cross this blood sea."

Ye Tian pondered.

He moved along the coastline, looking for clues.

Soon, he made a discovery.

On the coastline several miles to the left, there were scattered remains of broken stone platforms and fractured stone bridges.

These stone platforms were made of a special material that seemed able to resist the erosion of the blood sea, extending all the way toward the immortal mountain in the sea, though most had already broken and sunk, making them impassable.

And on the shore near these ruined stone platforms, dozens of figures had already gathered!

They were the Geniuses from various sects who had arrived here a step ahead of Ye Tian.

They were in groups of three or five, keeping a wary distance from each other, everyone's gaze solemnly fixed on the immortal mountain in the middle of the sea, yet filled with dread toward that dead blood sea.

Ye Tian restrained his aura and quietly blended into the edge of the crowd, observing silently.

He saw Blood Blade from the Tianjue Sect; he stood alone on a huge reef at the very front, holding his blood saber, his eyes coldly scanning the blood sea and the immortal mountain, with Evil Qi swirling around him, and no one dared to approach.

Yan Yang from Lieyang Valley appeared somewhat restless, the fire aura around him fluctuating as he looked at the blood sea from time to time, seemingly having the urge to try and cross by force, but he was held back by a fellow disciple beside him.

Liu Qingqing from the Qingmu Gate was leading several fellow disciples, carefully investigating those ruined stone platforms, with green light flashing from her fingertips, seemingly analyzing the material and residual energy of the platforms.

Shi Poshan from Xuanjin Fortress was much more direct; he gave a low roar, his body gleaming with a metallic luster, and he actually picked up a huge rock and threw it directly into the blood sea!

The rock fell into the viscous seawater without splashing much, but it made a "chi chi" sound and was then corroded!

In just a few breaths, that rock had completely disappeared!

Everyone's expression changed!

The corrosiveness of this blood sea water was actually so terrifying!

Seeing this, Shui Wuyue from Youshui Hall tried to cast a water-attribute Spell, shooting a water arrow toward the blood sea, attempting to separate the seawater.

However, as soon as that water arrow touched the blood sea, it was instantly assimilated and instead swallowed by the blood sea, increasing its power by a fraction!

Shui Wuyue suffered a backlash, let out a muffled groan, and took half a step back, her face instantly turning slightly pale.

"It's useless,"

A voice sounded as Yue Zhong from the Houtu Sect crouched on the ground, his palm pressing against the sand and stones by the shore. "This sea... is 'dead.' The power it contains is extremely overbearing, rejecting all external energy. Ordinary means simply cannot control it."

Everyone tried various methods, all ending in failure, and the atmosphere became somewhat tense for a while.

The immortal mountain was right before their eyes, the Opportunity within reach, yet blocked by this terrifying blood sea.

Just then, Chi Jiu from Fentian Valley let out a sharp whistle, and a Red-Feathered Vicious Vulture circling in the sky dove down fiercely, clutching at the sea surface, seemingly wanting to fly across by force.

However, at the very moment that vicious vulture was about to touch the sea surface!

"Splash!"

With a loud crash, a giant tentacle covered in bone spikes suddenly shot out from the blood sea, instantly wrapping around that vicious vulture, whose strength was comparable to the third level of the True Martial Realm!

The vicious vulture let out a shrill, mournful cry, struggling desperately and spitting fire, but that fire had no effect on the tentacle; the bone spikes tightened, instantly crushing its bones and dragging it into the blood sea!

A few bubbles rose to the sea surface, and then it returned to dead silence.

Everyone gasped!

The aura emitted by that tentacle had surprisingly reached the Late Stage of the True Martial Realm!

Beneath this blood sea, there were indeed extremely terrifying monsters hidden!

Chi Jiu's face was dark, but he didn't show much sorrow, his eyes only staring even more gloomily at the sea surface.

"It seems that forcing our way through won't work."

Blood Blade from the Tianjue Sect finally spoke, his voice cold. "These stone platforms are the only clue."

Everyone's gaze focused once more on those ruined stone platforms.